Kanshiro Wants a Wife

This is an old song sung by Japanese farmers. It is a foundation-building song, sung slowly in accompaniment with the loud thuds of the logs packing the dirt. Most stanzas are 7-7-5-7-7. In lines with seven syllables, the pounder is struck twice, once on the 4th syllable and once after the line is finished. In lines with five syllables , the pounder is struck once on the 3rd syllable. The song lays out the story of Kanshiro, a young man who is lonely and so goes searching for a wife. He travels throughout the land, praying to the gods to answer his prayer for companionship. Istead of finding a wife, he only finds trouble. The moral of the story is that wishes and daydreaming cause you to lose your focus, and honest work is more valued than even a beautiful wife.

Please note : This is a very old Japanese manuscript from which I translated the song. Whomever originally wrote it must have been listening to the song while writing, which may account for the skewedRomaji. I tried to make it readable, if not completely correct. You may notice that the translation is not exact line by line - this is because the song is better read in English not literally translated. Because of context, some words may have alternate meanings. This is is no way the only translation for this work.

Kanshiro to yuu hito wa A man named Kanshiro
Aru koto nai koto Of things that are and
things that are not
Nozomareta Was asked,
Aru koto nai koto Of things that are and
things that are not
Nozomi nara If you wish,
Aru koto nai koto Of things that are and
things that are not
Yute miro. Let's name them.1
Kanshiro dono ga When Kanshiro
Wakai toki Was young
Anmari nyonbo ga He wished to have
Mochitasa ni A wife so badly
Shiho no kamigami To the gods of 4 directions
Gan tatete He prayed
Ichi niwa Idzumo no First to Idzumo's shrine in
Oyashiro Oyashiro
Niban Ise no Second to Ise's in
Daijingu Daijinguu
San de Sanuki no Third to Sanuki's in
Kompira Kompira
Shiho no kami e To the gods of 4 directions
Gan tatete He prayed
Kami no goiji ni To the mercy of the gods
Sugatte mo He appealed as well
Yoi yona nyonbo wa Still a suitable wife
Orimo senu He could not find.
Shikoku mawari o Of a walk around Shikoku
Omoitachi Then he thought
Shikoku hachijyuu Shikoku's eighty-
Hachi kasho wo eight places2
Ura to omote o Back and front
Sagasedomo He searched
Yoi yona nyonbo A suitable wife
Orimasenu He could not find.
Saraba kore kara After this, he went
Saikoku ni To the west
Chikugo no kuni o At the land of Chikugo
Hajime to shi He began,
Hizen Higo kara Through Hizen and Higo, then
Satsuma made As far as Satsuma
Sagashite miredo He searched
Nao orazu Yet he could not find
Higo no kuni ni to To the land of Higo3
Tachikaeri He returned.
Higo no Kumamoto As through Kumamoto of Higo
Toru toki : He was passing :
"Kore a moshi "Pray,
Kanshiro sama Sir Kanshiro, 4
Anata wo atashi wa For you I have
Itsu karamo A long time
Shitai moshitezo Been longing after
Koko mitoshi For the past 3 years
Anata no idokoro Your whereabouts
Sagase domo I tried to find,
Anata no sugata wa But your figure
Miemasenu Escaped me
Koko de ootaga After many years
Kyoo kunenme Today we meet
Doozo kore kara Please, after this
Nyobo ja to Have compassion and
Yuute moraeba dono yoni Call me your wife
Watashi wa kono mama Here and now, as it is
Shinurutomo I could die
Nande yono naka What grudge can I have
Urami mashyoo" Against this world?"
Wakai doshi no Since they were
Kotonareba Both young
Sugu ni hanashi mo Immediately discussion was
Matomatte Settled.
"Shibashi machiyare "Wait a minute,
Kanshiro-san Mr. Kanshiro
Watashi ga chyooto Excuse me
Kozashiki wo I will prepare us
Tukurimasu kara A small room, so
Machinanse Wait a while."
Soko de onna ga Then the woman
Suru koto nya Without more ado
Tatami o san-mai Three tatami mats
Hikidashite She presented,
Roku-mai byoobu ni A 6-part folding screen,
Mitsu-buton And three quilts,
Moshi mo no kami no And, instead of
Kawari niwa paper in case of emergency
Mushiro o shigo-mai She took out 4 or 5 mats 5
Kore o mite toru Seeing this,
Kanshiro Kanshiro thought
"Tottemo kanawanu "How unbearable
Nyobo zoto" My wife is!"
Idaten hashiri ni He began to run fast
Hashiriuki As fast as he could run
Kore o mite toru Seeing this,
Sono onago The woman said
"Onore Kanshiro "You, Kanshiro6
Nigasu ka" to How can I let you go?" and
Izen no kozashiki She put the small room
Katatsukete Into order
Shiro uma ippiki A small white horse
Hikidashite She presented
Sore ni bagu o mo And a harness too
Hikidashite She presented
Sono ya uma ni On this horse
Uchinotte She rode
Otte kimasu yo She came chasing
Kanshiro Kanshiro
Yoyaku Kanshiro At last Kanshiro
Nigenonde Escaped
Kawashimo atari ni To a nearby stream
Mo wa kore nite But before he could say
Daijoobu "I'm safe"
Omo ori kara Then a heavy
Oarashi storm
Ame ya arashi to With strong wind and rain
Narimasuru Came down.
Chiooto kokorade While he stopped briefly
Ama yoke o The rain stopped
Itasu ori kara After a time,
Yuudachi mo The storm too
Hareta tenki to And the weather began to
Narimasuru Become clear.
Soreni tokoro no Beside his place
Nomin wa There were farmers
Hoko wo katagete Carrying tools
Kusa kari ni Were out to cut grass
Tochuu yuudachi Meanwhile, the storm
Aimashita They were also encountering
Niwakani dekita Suddenly, there appeared
Ohotoke-iwa The Buddha-rock.7
Kokoni amakage Here the farmers
Itasoo to Tried to find shelter
Omo ori kara But then
Hotoke-iwa The Buddha-rock
Iyoo na oto de Made a strange sound
Taoremasu And fell.
Kyoten itasu This shocked the
Nomin wa Farmers, who
Nigeba ushinai Lost their way escaping
Sono iwa no The rock
Shitani narite zo Rolled over them
Kega o suru And they were hurt
Mura no yakunin The village official
Kikitsukete Heard the news
Tazei nimbu o And many workers
Hikitsurete Came along with him
Kyuujo kyuujo to To help, to help and
Dekakemasu They set out
Mikka miasa no For 3 mornings
Nezushigoto Without rest.
Iwa wa katazuke When the rock was cleared,
Ato mireba Look at the remains -
Sanjyuu go-nin no Thirty-five were dead.
Shisha gozaru Even with this,8
Naomo Kanshiro Kanshiro
Nozomi kana Wishes for a Wife
Nozomi nareba If he wishes
Mata yaraoka We'll tell it again.

1 = The general meaning of the introduction is that there once was a man named Kanshiro and the things told of him may or may not be true; at any rate let us relate the story.2 = Shikoku has 88 sacred sites which were established in the Heian Era by a wandering priest. Many people go there on pilgrimages. The number 88 was picked because it is believed that humans have 88 virtues and 88 worldly desires.3 = Higo is an old name for the Kumamoto prefecture.4 = I believe here she is trying to get him to stop, as the translation is a little unclear.5 = This could be many things, but I am assuming from context she means it is for him to clean up with after sex. This may be Kanshiro's first clue she is not a wife sent from the gods, but rather a prostitute.6 = "Onore" is an insulting 'you', which she probably used to get his attention.7 = Usually these are sacred rocks located at a precarious angle on a cliff. They are carved with various Buddha images; and are there to mark a sacred site.8 = Even all of these troubles did not phase Kanshiro's quest for a wife. Hence the moral of the story - do not lose yourself in wishes, focus on the present.